Luigi Dallapiccola facts for kids
Luigi Dallapiccola was an Italian composer. He lived from February 3, 1904, to February 19, 1975. He was famous for his beautiful and expressive music, especially his "twelve-tone" compositions. This was a special way of organizing notes in music.
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Biography
Luigi Dallapiccola was born in a town called Pisino d'Istria. At that time, it was part of Austria-Hungary. Today, it is Pazin in Croatia. His parents were Italian.
Unlike many composers, Luigi did not have an easy start in music. His hometown, Istria, had many political problems. This caused his family to move often.
His father was the headmaster of the only Italian school in the city. When World War I began, the school was closed. The family was seen as a threat to the government. They were sent away to a place called Graz in Austria.
During this time, young Luigi did not even have a piano. But he went to the local opera house often. Seeing these shows made him want to become a composer. After the war, he returned to Pisino but traveled a lot.
Luigi studied piano at the Florence Conservatory in the 1920s. He also learned how to compose music from a teacher named Vito Frazzi.
In 1931, he became a professor at the same conservatory. He taught piano there until he retired in 1967. Many students learned from him, including famous composers like Luciano Berio.
Life During Wartime
Luigi Dallapiccola's early life was affected by the government of Benito Mussolini. Mussolini led Italy from 1922 to 1943. At first, Luigi supported Mussolini because he believed the government's messages.
But in the 1930s, Luigi strongly disagreed with Mussolini's actions. He protested Italy's wars in other countries. He also disliked Mussolini's support for Adolf Hitler's ideas about race. This was very personal for Luigi because his wife, Laura Luzzatto, was Jewish.
His strong feelings led him to write music that protested these ideas. Two of his famous works, Canti di prigionia and Il prigioniero, show his deep concern. Canti di prigionia was his first true protest piece.
During World War II, Luigi was in a dangerous situation. He was against the Nazis. He tried to continue his music career, but it was hard. Twice, he had to hide for several months to stay safe. He continued to perform, but only in countries not controlled by the Nazis.
After the War
After the war, Luigi's music became well-known. His opera Il prigioniero made him famous. His life became calmer after this.
He often traveled to the United States. He taught composition classes at Queens College in New York starting in 1956. He was also a popular speaker in Europe and the Americas.
His opera Ulisse in 1968 was a highlight of his career. After this, he composed less music. In his later years, he mostly wrote essays instead of new songs.
Luigi Dallapiccola stopped composing in 1972 because of his health. He died in Florence in 1975 from a lung illness. He left a few unfinished musical ideas, including one vocal piece he was working on just hours before he passed away.
Music
Richard Wagner's music first made Luigi want to compose. But then, hearing Claude Debussy's music in 1921 made him stop composing for three years! He wanted to fully understand Debussy's style.
Later, the music of Ferruccio Busoni became important to him. But his biggest influence came from the "Second Viennese School" in the 1930s. He especially admired composers like Alban Berg and Anton Webern.
Luigi's early works from the 1920s are not performed today. He asked that they not be played, though they can still be studied.
Twelve-Tone Style
Luigi Dallapiccola used a technique called "serialism" or "twelve-tone technique." This was a new way to compose music using all twelve notes of the musical scale in a specific order. He was the first Italian composer to use this method. He helped make it popular in Italy.
He found ways to use this technique to create beautiful, flowing melodies. This was different from what some people expected from twelve-tone music. In the 1930s, his style changed. He started by using twelve-tone rows for melodies. Then, he began to structure his entire pieces using this method.
Luigi never lost his ability to write strong melodies. This was important because some critics thought modern twelve-tone music lacked good melodies.
His feelings about Mussolini's government also changed his music. After a war in Africa, he said his music would never be light and happy again. While he did write a few lighter pieces later, like the Piccolo concerto per Muriel Couvreux, his music generally became more serious.
Liriche Greche (1942–45) was his first work fully composed in the twelve-tone style. It was for a solo voice and instruments. At the same time, he wrote his last purely traditional piece, the ballet Marsia.
In the next ten years, his technique became more refined. He was more influenced by Webern's music. From the 1950s onward, his music became calm and thoughtful. This was a change from the more raw and emotional works of his youth. Most of his later works were songs for a solo voice with instruments.
His music is known for its gentle and rich sounds. He often used sustained notes from woodwind and string instruments, like the clarinet and viola.
Important Works
The politically charged Canti di prigionia (Songs of Imprisonment) was for a choir and instruments. It was the first part of a group of three works about imprisonment and unfairness. The one-act opera Il prigioniero (The Prisoner) and the cantata Canti di liberazione (Songs of Liberation) completed this group.
Il prigioniero (1944–48) is Luigi Dallapiccola's most famous work. It tells a chilling story about a political prisoner. His jailer seems to let him escape from his cell. But just as he feels free, he realizes it was a cruel trick. He runs right into the arms of the Grand Inquisitor, who smiles and leads him to be executed.
This opera's sad ending shows Luigi's complete disappointment with fascism. He had innocently supported it when Mussolini first came to power. The music in the opera is both beautiful and unsettling.
His final opera, Ulisse, was based on the ancient Greek story of The Odyssey. Luigi wrote the story for the opera himself. He worked on it for eight years. It brought together themes from his earlier works and was his last major composition.
List of works
- Partita (1930–32), for orchestra
- Estate (1932), for male chorus
- Divertimento in quattro esercizi (1934), for soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, viola, cello
- Musica per tre pianoforti (Inni) (1935), for three pianos
- Sei cori di Michelangelo Buonarroti il Giovane (1932–36), three series for different voices and instruments
- Tre laudi (1936–37), for voice and 13 instruments
- Volo di Notte (1938), a one-act opera
- Canti di prigionia (1938–41), for chorus, two pianos, 2 harps and percussion
- Piccolo concerto per Muriel Couvreux (1939–41), for piano and chamber orchestra
- Studio sul Capriccio n. 14 di Niccolò Paganini (1942), for piano
- Marsia (1942–43), a ballet
- Frammenti sinfonici dal balletto Marsia (1942–43), for orchestra
- Liriche greche (1942–45), for voice and chamber orchestra or other instruments
- Il prigioniero (1944–48), an opera
- Ciaccona, Intermezzo e Adagio (1945), for solo cello
- Sonatina canonica, in mi bemolle maggiore, su Capricci di Niccolò Paganini, per pianoforte (1946), for piano
- Rencesvals (1946), for baritone and piano
- Due studi (1946–47), for violin and piano
- Due pezzi (1947), for orchestra (a version of Due studi)
- Quattro liriche di Antonio Machado (1948), for soprano and piano
- Tre episodi dal balletto Marsia (1949), for piano
- Tre poemi (1949), for voice and chamber orchestra
- Job (1950), a mystery play
- Tartiniana (1951), for violin and orchestra
- Quaderno musicale di Annalibera (1952), for solo piano
- Goethe-Lieder (1953), for mezzo-soprano, piccolo clarinet, clarinet, and bass clarinet
- Variazioni (1954), for orchestra (a version of Quaderno musicale di Annalibera)
- Piccola musica notturna (1954), for orchestra
- Canti di liberazione (1951–55), for mixed chorus and orchestra
- An Mathilde (1955), cantata for soprano and orchestra
- Tartiniana seconda (1955–56), for violin and piano, or violin and chamber orchestra
- Cinque canti (1956), for baritone and 8 instruments
- Concerto per la notte di Natale dell'anno 1956 (1957), for chamber orchestra and soprano
- Requiescant (1957–58), for chorus and orchestra
- Dialoghi (1960), for cello and orchestra
- Piccola musica notturna (1960–61), for chamber ensemble
- Three Questions With Two Answers (1962), for orchestra
- Preghiere (1962), for baritone and chamber orchestra
- Parole di San Paolo (1964), for voice and instruments
- Quattro liriche di Antonio Machado (1964), version for soprano and chamber orchestra
- Ulisse (1960–68), an opera in a prologue and two acts
- Sicut umbra... (1970), for mezzo-soprano and 12 instruments
- Tempus destruendi / Tempus aedificandi (1971), for chorus
- Ulisse. Suite dall'opera/A (1971), for soprano, bass-baritone, orchestra
- Ulisse. Suite dall'opera/B (1971), for 3 sopranos, mezzo-soprano/alto, tenor, bass-baritone, chorus and orchestra
- Commiato (1972), for soprano and ensemble
See also
In Spanish: Luigi Dallapiccola para niños
